"Faith, Football and the Fervent Religious Culture at Dabo Swinney's Clemson" (SI article)
SI looks at Dabo's Clemson culture:
https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/09/04/clemson-dabo-swinney-religion-culture
Mods, if this is too "political" please remove it (thanks). I thought it might be interesting to many in MGoBlog's readership.
September 5th, 2019 at 8:54 AM ^
Their culture is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
September 5th, 2019 at 8:57 AM ^
Also a religion.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:00 AM ^
Hugh Freeze says hi!
September 5th, 2019 at 11:52 AM ^
Dabo's next job will be at Liberty.
September 5th, 2019 at 12:10 PM ^
Will anyone be shocked when Liberty starts getting 4* and 5* players?
September 5th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
ah the Joel Osteen approach!
September 5th, 2019 at 8:55 AM ^
You would think that someone with such a high moral and spiritual standard, would do whatever he could to run as clean of a program as possible. You know, bags upon bags of money, performance enhancing drugs, etc. This is like the Mob going to Sunday Mass to confess their sins. That makes everything okay, right?
September 5th, 2019 at 9:10 AM ^
My unpopular opinion (at least within our fanbase) is that it's not hypocritical of a Christian to pay football players or run afoul of the rules of a silly NGO. The "LOL Dabo cheats, what a fake Christian" line doesn't really work for me, logically.
Maybe he's not a good Christian. We know he "cheats" the NCAA rules. If the former is true, it's not because of the latter in my book.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:17 AM ^
He's probably justifying the paying players as helping out kids whose family needs the money. Roids on the other hand, I can't figure out an ethical justification for that.
September 5th, 2019 at 3:38 PM ^
I don't think there's anything unethical about PEDs either honestly, seems like literally everyone is using them.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^
My take isn't necessarily saying "Dabo is a fake christian". The problem for me is, that he is putting himself on a pedestal. Claiming to want to mold young men, and show them the light. Teach them how to do the right things. How can you do that and then either knowingly cheat, or turn your back on the cheating? To me that is hypocritical. The rules are the rules, whether you or I agree with them or not.
I think that its crazy that my 7 year old has homework every SINGLE night, but i'm not going to allow him to not do it, and I am certainly not going to do his homework for him. That to me would not be the right thing to do. I try to teach him to do the right thing everyday, now if I made an exception because I didn't agree with his school, that would be Hypocritical of me. That might not be apples to apples, but I hope it better explains my point.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:37 AM ^
I think many people, both Christians and non-Christians, misinterpret what a "good" Christian is supposed to look like. The Puritan way of thinking that so much of American Christianity lives by would say that everything he is doing is wrong. Getting players paid, allowing use of steroids, etc. As my own personal faith has grown, I have come to terms that true Christians don't always follow the law. The countries where Christianity is "strongest" and growing are the countries that have the most restrictive laws oppressing it. Doing the right thing doesn't always mean following the rules. Doing the right thing might mean helping a player's family out by funnelling some money to them. Doing the right thing might mean working the system so that a recruit or player gets a need taken care of. Steroids? That's a different issue and goes against the grain from actually helping someone.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:50 AM ^
I’m fine with him paying players, it’s the sanctimonious BS he espouses trying to prevent payment from becoming legal. There is no morality I can think of that says it’s okay to do under the table, while fighting hard to not allow for it to be above the board.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:57 AM ^
I can agree with that statement.
September 5th, 2019 at 3:18 PM ^
I think his sanctimonious BS is good for recruiting.
September 5th, 2019 at 10:50 AM ^
I understand the argument that “God’s law” trumps the law of the land. But Sweeny isn’t forced to participate in college football. It’s not like a government that he has no choice to live under. He willfully entered a contract in which he promised not to cheat and then he cheated for the sake of his own personal gain. I’m sure that he belongs to some prosperity doctrine that’s okay with all of that, but I also don’t believe that such a doctrine can seriously be considered Christianity. That’s claiming that the religion somehow gives cover to the merchants at the temple. While there’s a lot of room for scriptural interpretation, I don’t think there can be a biblical reading where the merchants in the temple are saints.
September 5th, 2019 at 11:14 AM ^
As an adult with a shit ton of money Sweeny can choose to immigrate anywhere he damn well pleases. So no government here is forcing him to do anything.
September 5th, 2019 at 10:55 AM ^
I must have missed the rock solid report that Clemson allows steroid use and have a significantly higher percentage of juiced players than the median college football team.
September 5th, 2019 at 11:32 AM ^
And to me that might mean helping someone in need but also being truthful about what you are doing and not only helping those in a direct position to help you (to the tune of a $8mil contract) but also working to change the system so that everyone can be helped. It would not be secretly trying to get away with something if you passionately believe what you are doing is right.
September 5th, 2019 at 3:04 PM ^
Indeed. What good Christian would not assist a young man in need of transportation for weekend visits home in obtaining a 2020 Mercedes SL?
September 5th, 2019 at 9:42 AM ^
And I don’t mean to push back against you personally. I’m speaking more generally against the large swath of our fanbase that likes to use Dabo’s espoused religion to attack his program and him personally.
I understand your point full well and I get it. If you’re (the general “you”) plainly saying that you don’t think Dabo is a man of strong morals, that’s fine. However, the specific action of paying players is not antithetical to the Christian faith in my mind, and I think some in our fanbase just want an excuse to attack Christianity.
I don’t think Dabo runs a clean program, and I don’t think he’s oblivious to the benefits his players receive/have been offered. I think people can call that out without trying to also lampoon his faith.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:56 AM ^
If you want to show your kid how to do the right thing, you should tell the 7 year old's teacher that your kid isn't doing any homework. It isn't beneficial for children that young, and you can show the kid that it's ok (and even an important exercise of freedom) to stand up to people in power when they are wrong.
September 5th, 2019 at 5:14 PM ^
Snowplow parenting.
September 5th, 2019 at 6:06 PM ^
No, you take it to the principal and then the school board. You show your child how to help not just himself but everyone else too.
September 6th, 2019 at 4:50 AM ^
7 year old with homework here too. Total BS. I too begrudgingly make him do it because it is the right thing to do. I think.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:27 AM ^
Paying players is not a sin. Lying about it (and other actions taken) is.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:28 AM ^
Moral rectitude is not "choosing" which rules you're going to follow.
September 5th, 2019 at 10:04 PM ^
user name does not check out
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE ALERT
September 5th, 2019 at 9:30 AM ^
Is your point that he's breaking man's rules and not God's rules, so it's not relevant to being a good Christian or not? I get that line of thinking. (Full disclaimer am not a Christian and know very little about the religion or any religion for that matter).
But by cheating and breaking the NCAA rules, isn't he hurting other coaches and fanbases? I mean if he pays $300K for guys like Gary, than they don't go to other schools and those teams will lose more games and the coaches will get fired. So he's hurting others by his acts. Is that OK for Good Christians?
September 5th, 2019 at 9:48 AM ^
Yes and no. The real root is that God cares not one bit about the outcome of a sports game. As a Christian if I honor Him through my actions, thoughts, and words regardless of what I'm doing then I have succeeded in my Christian life.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:51 AM ^
That’s close to my point, yes. I think there’s even an argument to be made, depending on how you view things, that the NCAA’s rules are not in line with Jesus’ teachings. I don’t think it would be crazy to make an argument that paying players is actually the Christian thing to do. I think, either way, you have to make a lot of leaps to tie any one coach’s loss of livelihood to another coach’s payment of recruits, when there are so many variables at play.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:58 AM ^
Thanks. I agree with you :)
September 5th, 2019 at 9:54 AM ^
FWIW I've read the bible cover to cover. Can't remember any passages on performance enhancing drugs/steroids but I've got to believe there's a "thou shall not" that covers it somewhere.
IMO Clemson is good not necessarily because of who they've paid but because of what chemicals they've given to who they paid.
September 5th, 2019 at 10:23 AM ^
LOL... so the commandment addressing lies don't apply to sports? Bravo, sir.
September 5th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
I work with a guy who was the starting QB for one of the service academies and he said everyone, including the righteous UM, has players taking PEDs. He also said you are a fool if you don’t think UM has players getting paid on the side.
September 5th, 2019 at 3:57 PM ^
This has been covered many times here... Devin Gardner having a booster's credit card for example.
Hopefully the difference is Michigan didn't give Rashan Gary $300K, or a Cam Newton's dad $180K, or a Reggie Bush's mom a fucking house in SoCal.
September 5th, 2019 at 12:39 PM ^
I think the problem some people have (including myself) is that Christianity is used as a shield for what (perhaps) is a very dirty program. It's a lot harder to criticize because it feels like one is criticizing their religion too. I think it is intentional, clever, and successful. But it feels scummy to me.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:12 AM ^
You'd have thought that with Hugh Freeze, too.
Turns out, perhaps some of these guys use religion to hide their behavior and/or shield themselves of any criticism.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
Exactly. I think Dr. Toboggan's point would hold more if he wasn't so sanctimonious in his claims that players shouldn't be paid through the NCAA and his rants against "entitlement".
September 5th, 2019 at 10:33 AM ^
Having talked to people around Clemson SC who know Dabo, he's a genuinely well thought of guy who seems to care about his players. The guy built a huge dorm on the property of his home (which is modest for a dude who makes millions of dollars a year and lives in a dirt cheap area) so his players could stay there.
Clemson is a tiny tiny tiny town and the players are viewed as a respectful part of the community.
September 5th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
he built a dorm on his own land for players to live? hows that work?
September 5th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
I have no idea, but the real estate agent showed me a house on his block and there was, indeed, a huge dorm building on his property. She told me that they use it for team building stuff. I wish I would have taken a picture.
September 5th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
Isn’t that what SMU received the death penalty for?
September 5th, 2019 at 3:18 PM ^
When it comes to moral and religious values, Dabo is quite a lot like our own Coach Harbaugh, although their religions obviously have differences. When Dabo won his first NC, he gathered the team in the locker room and told them that it was not the most important thing that will happen in their lives. The day of their marriage will be more important, and the day their first child will be born. That is something our Jimmy might well say when our day comes. Clemson undoubtedly has a remarkably evangelical culture and it does start with the coaching staff. Last spring, I spoke at a gathering of mainly grad assistants and analysts -- young eager guys -- although one member of the coaching staff was also present. What a great and solid bunch of guys. But, you may not know, another top football team with a very large evangelical presence is the University of Michigan. And this is no small thing, I hear, in our ability to recruit top talent out of the South.
As for Dabo paying players -- and, yes, I know the Jennifer Coney story -- I do think it is a major disappointment given their trumpeting of a Christian identity. I think most people here in SC think that Clemson is paying, but the rationale is that everyone is. If they are, I think this is wrong. If you're going to be a public Christian, then you can't put winning ahead of integrity. I will say this, though, the comparison between Hugh Freeze and Dabo is really unfair and a cheap shot. Hugh Freeze is a total disgrace without a shred of integrity. The closer you look at Dabo, you find lots of integrity and the kind of virtue that makes sports valuable. But if he is proved to be cheating, I make no excuse for him.
September 5th, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
I would not think that at all based on someone's claimed moral/spiritual standards.
September 6th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
In nearly 20 years of dealing with business owners, I've dealt with many that I've come to find out are deeply religious, but only two that put it front and center for everyone to see. And those two were two of the most corrupt that I've ever dealt with -- deceitful, unethical...
In the 1990s, one of the most successful football programs was Florida State, run by an openly religious head coach, Bobby Bowden. That program was either the dirties or second dirtiest (depending on how one viewed Miami (YTM)).
My experience tells me that when someone is pushing their religion to the front, be wary that it is being used as a facade to conceal questionable behavior.
Clearly this is a small sample size I'm dealing with.
September 5th, 2019 at 8:59 AM ^
Imagine NOT being Christian in a place like that.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:08 AM ^
It's easier than you think. All you have to do is play along, close your eyes when people pray, and that's about it. Lifestyle wise you can do whatever you want.
September 5th, 2019 at 9:11 AM ^
Don't forget to give your money to Joel Osteen
September 5th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
Apparently at Clemson, you give your money to NewSpring. So maybe that’s the funnel?
Gotta love for-profit church’s...